Category: University of Illinois in Chicago

The Chicago area that includes Oak Park, IL “has the fifth-highest” out of 100 big city areas in the country with a problem with a socioeconomically issue that is racially based. A report created by the University of Illinois in Chicago “The Cost of Segregation” this report talks about how the racial lines in the Chicago land area impacts the crime rates, the businesses that are invested in those areas, and how this all impacts everyone in the area.

Now how does Oak Park, IL get involved well in all this? Well the problems of Chicago, IL does overflow into this suburb especially since they share a similar boundary of Austin Avenue. Therefore, the ideal suburb must deal with the backlash of failed policies (economic, political, etc.) of the major metropolitan body it is connected to, and denying that Oak Park, IL is being impacted by it is just absurd.

Getting worried about a Taco Bell entering the area or that the Village board selling out creating high-rises downtown, is nothing compared to everyday issues that the people in the most segregation areas dealt with on a daily basis. Their problems of low economic opportunities sometimes translate into crime, that crime does not stay in that area.

It also creeps into Oak Park, IL, ignorance is not bliss, and partnerships across the borders of Oak Park, IL in the less opportune areas could help stymied crime bleeding into this area. Even Though Oak Park, IL does not seem to have a ton of crime it is best to keep abreast of the issues that impact the area. You can read more about these issues below.